A Good Read
by Portia1
Summary: A fictional character enters the world of Angel. Takes place after Reunion and takes much creative license.


A GOOD READ   
  
  
Setting: 1973 - a Church interior  
  
A small girl, probably around the age of 4 or 5 years old, is kneeling in front of the church altar. A close-up shows a cherubic face, eyes closed and lips moving silently in prayer. The camera pulls away slowly and as it gains distance, we are able to see a glow around the girl. The light of the church candles seems to embrace the girl.  
A priest and a nun stand at the back of the church.  
"She's the one the prophecy speaks of?"  
"Take special care of her sister. For God has touched her, and her future shall enable his will."  
"But for her to one day fall in love with one of Satan's creatures - a vampire with a soul? How can that be God's work?"  
"Our place is not to question God's designs sister."  
"Yes Father." she bows her head in humility.  
  
  
Images flash before us quickly, breaking into one another. The close-up of a woman's face, filled with fear, crying - a close-up of Angel's face, Cordelia and Wesley arguing in the background - Extremely quick flash of the Oracles - a flash of the little girl as she opens her eyes after prayer - Back to Angel as his head jerks skyward as if he heard something....  
  
  
Setting: The Hyperion  
  
Camera pans down the stairway and over the lobby where we see Angel, Wesley and Cordelia discussing a case. Wesley and Cordelia are loudly disagreeing while Angel sits soberly drinking a glass of blood. The camera focuses on Angel's face. He shows his impatience and just as he's about to say something, Cordelia grabs her head and starts to totter. Angel jumps out of his armchair, dropping the glass of blood and catches Cordelia. Wesley also jumps for her but as always, gets there after Angel.  
"Lindsey's office." Cordelia tries to piece together the cryptic messages that violate her mind. "There's so much fear."  
Wesley yells "go!" as he takes Cordelia from Angel. We see a flash of Angel's leather duster as he flies out the door.   
Cordelia dazedly looks at Wesley. "It's Lindsey's fear."  
  
  
Cut to Lindsey McDonald's new office at Wolfram & Hart  
  
A woman's voice cries out, "No, Lindsey. Please."  
His voice filled with rage and slurred by alcohol, Lindsey attacks. "You were a big disappointment Cattallina. You were my ticket to the top floor here and you failed me miserably!" His voice rose with each word. His hand also rose and then came down on her face. "Everything is falling apart."  
We see a soft, innocent face - the adult face of the child in the church. Her tears and a scratch on her face tell us this "argument" has been taking place for some time.  
"You're drunk!" she accuses  
He hits her again.   
"Lindsey, I am not the reason you are falling apart...."  
"I've had ENOUGH!"  
"I am not going to keep helping you!" she cries pleadingly. "Please just let me go." For a moment we see Lindsey's face soften as he looks at her helpless, beneath him.   
"Catt, I...." his voice is softer. "Do you have any idea...?" He stops and searches for the words through the haziness of the alcohol.  
"I have been protecting you from the very beginning. They wanted you dead you know. DEAD! If I hadn't fallen in love with you..."  
"Love? That's what you feel for me?" The look of horror on her face rips through him. "You are the most vile, evil man - what you're feeling is not love! You've been lying to me for months. You've kept me a prisoner..."  
"No!" Lindsey yells at her, "No!" He is at a loss for words as his anger blinds him. He throws the woman easily against the desk even though she is fighting against him. Papers and files go flying, the lamp is knocked over and breaks.   
"I hate you!" she screams at the top of her lungs.  
"No!" her words stab him and violate his very being.  
She is trying to protect herself from his fists but his hands then stop hitting her and start ripping at her clothing.  
"I kept you alive. I found a way to use you to their advantage." he vainly reasons.  
Her blouse rips and he is forcing her skirt up.   
"No, Lindsey, please don't do this." she sobs, fighting him.  
He continues to assault her and begins raping her. We hear her screaming and crying, begging him to stop, but the camera is focused on his face. It goes from pure rage, to satisfaction at the violence and then turns to pain and then finally to utter regret and remorse. We see his motions slowing down and we get the feeling that he is going to stop his assault.  
At that moment, Angel comes flying through the window.  
Lindsey and Cattallina both look up at the large, dark, imposing figure, different expressions on their faces.  
Angel quickly pulls Lindsey off of his victim and throws him against the wall. As Angel plants his feet solidly, preparing for Lindsey's rebound, his eyebrows furrow in surprise as Lindsey stays where he is. There is a moment of silence. The camera goes from Angel's face back to Lindsey's where we see him look defeated.   
"She's been waiting for you." Lindsey says cryptically.  
Angel looks at the woman, who is burrowed into a corner of the office, her blouse pulled tightly around her. Her head is facing downward as she proudly fights the sobs that roll out of her.   
Security guards break through the door. As they advance towards Angel, he grabs Lindsey and throws him at the guards, knocking them down like bowling pins. While they scramble back to their feet, Angel is already with Cattallina, gently picking her up like a broken doll. She is sobbing and trembling as he holds her close.  
"Let them go." Lindsey's voice abdicates.   
Angel again looks at him questioningly before he strides out the open door.  
The camera shows us a close-up of Lindsey's face. Still laying on the floor he watches Angel take Cattallina away.   
  
  
Cut to the Hyperion  
  
Cattallina is wrapped in Angel's white bathrobe, wet hair hanging around her freshly showered but bruised and scratched face. She is sitting in Angel's bed, blankets up to her chin. Cordelia is sitting next to her, applying a bandage to Catt's forehead.  
"That should do it." she says with a smile. Her patient doesn't respond and Cordelia realizes she is looking past her. At Angel. He is out of earshot, talking to Wesley and the half demon - half human doctor that the agency employs.  
"He told me his name is Angel."  
Cordelia nods.  
"Is he THE Angel? The one that Lindsey's been trying to stop? The one that helps people?"  
"The one and the same." Cordelia seems puzzled by Cattallina's expression. She almost looks happy.  
"I knew the moment I saw him that he was the one."  
"The one?"  
Cattallina looks at her realizing how silly she must sound.  
With no explanation offered, Cordelia changes the subject. "You know about Lindsey's plans to stop Angel?"  
"The problem with Lindsey is that he can't stop Angel." Cattallina answered, looking Cordelia in the eyes. "I think he's just realizing that."  
"And he took that out on you? I'm confused. You've never even met Angel."  
Just then the doctor leaves. Angel nods at his parting words and Wesley escorts him to the door. Angel comes over to check on the woman taking refuge in his bed. Cordelia stands up and Angel takes her place on the bed. He reaches up and gently touches the bandage that Cordelia has just affixed.  
"How are you doing?" His voice is soft, full of concern.  
Cattallina quickly wraps her arms around Angel, leaning into him. "I'll be okay. I knew you would come for me soon."  
Angel's reaction stuns Wesley and Cordelia. Expecting him to back away from the affection as was Angel's MO, he welcomes her hug and reciprocates, wrapping his arms tightly around the woman. Burying his face familiarly in her hair and hugging her tightly, he pulls her onto his lap. "I promise I won't let him hurt you again - ever. I'm here now."  
Wesley and Cordelia exchange dropped jaws and when they realize the hug isn't ending, awkwardly leave the room.  
The camera pulls back, leaving us with the image of Angel gently rocking Cattallina. As the camera fades to black, Cattallina moves her arms to cradle the head that has rested against her neck. Pulling him even closer against her, she comforts Angel.  
  
Wesley and Cordelia are huddled together the next morning, drinking coffee and talking about something we can't hear. Angel walks down the staircase, rubbing his eyes.  
"Good morning boss" Cordelia greets him with a chipper voice.  
"Morning."  
Wesley nods.  
"Cordelia, can you let Cattallina borrow some clothes? I'll take her shopping later."  
Cordy's eyes become twice their normal huge size.  
"Sure." she looks at Wes.  
"Um, Angel," Wesley starts, "would you like me to make the usual arrangements for Cattallina. I can call the victim's shelter over on..."  
"No, she'll be staying here. Are there any doughnuts? Maybe I should order some food. Do you guys want breakfast?"  
"Woh boss. Fine with the client bonding but when you start ordering me breakfast...actually, that's not a bad change to the routine. I'll have an egg white omelet with sun dried tomatoes...."  
"Cordelia!" Wesley hisses.  
"Toast or bagel?" Angel asks grabbing a piece of paper and a pencil.  
"Excuse me, no carbs."  
"Wesley?"  
Wesley is stunned. "You are letting her stay here?" Angel stops and looks at Wes. "Yes." His tone baring a warning.  
"Well, I don't want to pry but...."  
"Then don't."  
"Well, is there a concern that Lindsey is going to come after her?"  
Angel grabs a cup of coffee and raises it to his lips. He pauses, "No,"  
"The Powers that be over at Wolfram & Hart can't be too happy with his progress lately." Wesley muses. "With Darla and Dru killing half their top management and now that Cattallina has escaped....what exactly did she do for them?" Wesley realizes he doesn't even know.  
At that moment, Cattallina walks into camera view. Having reached the bottom stairs she hears their conversation. Suddenly she isn't sure she should be there. Angel catches Wesley and Cordelia's looks and turns to see Catt, looking awkward. He walks over to her and takes her hand.  
"Maybe this isn't the right time for me to be here." she offers to him. "It's the perfect time." Angel answers, looking into her eyes. He then smiles. "What would you like for breakfast?"  
  
  
Weeks Later  
  
"Have you found anything yet?" Angel's voice is crisp.  
"Nothing." Cordelia and Wesley answer in unison. Cordelia is on a computer, Wesley is pouring through old, dusty tomes.  
"These programs are older than Madonna." Cordelia complains. "How am I supposed to cross reference this information?"  
The demon standing between Angel and Gunn, though diminutive in size had a booming voice. "Maybe we should try the warehouse. This time he'll be surprised, he won't expect another attack so soon."  
"Here's something!" Cordelia excitedly shouts. "The Emcea demon can be killed by cutting off the large top pointy thing on the top of his back. It's his source of power. Once it's gone, he's as weak as a baby."  
"We're out of here." Angel announces, grabbing his axe.  
Gunn and Wesley fall in behind him, the demon taking up the rear.  
As Angel opens the front door, Cattallina enters. She sees the entourage following and correctly assumes the endeavor. "You didn't find him earlier?"  
"We found him. He didn't go down." Angel leans down and kisses her forehead. "You and Cordelia stay put."  
"You be careful." she warns with affection. Seeing the demon waiting impatiently behind them she nods a greeting. The squat olive green beast offers a hand.   
"This is our client - Zerbillech." Wesley makes introductions quickly and politely.  
"Mr. Zerbill...it's nice to meet you." Catt says while accepting his extended hand.  
Angel holds open the door and the rest of the gang restarts their exit. Angel notices the look on Catt's face.  
"What's wrong?"  
She stares at the exiting demon.  
"Catt?" Angel's voice is filled with concern. The men once again stop in their tracks, the large vampire blocking their way.  
"He's not telling you the truth. He's hiding something." she says looking into Angel's eyes. He nods - just before grabbing the demon and propelling his head into the wall beside the door.  
"Angel!" His associates are plainly outraged by his actions. "He has been a good paying customer for months." Cordelia defends.  
Angel ignores her and bashes the demon's head into the wall again. "What's the story Zerbillech?"  
"There's no story! I told you the truth before."  
Angel rams his head into the wall again.  
"Angel stop!" Wesley gasps. Gunn grabs his arm but is easily shaken off.  
"I know better than to lie to you." the demon's voice now squeaks.  
The demon's head is once again forced into the wall.  
"Okay, okay, I may not have told you the whole truth."  
Angel spins the creature around slamming the back of his head into the wall. "Start talking."  
  
  
Another Day  
  
"I don't understand him." Wesley is musing quietly. He is sitting in one of the lobby's chairs, a book forgotten on his lap. "I mean, she is beautiful and kind,...she sort of makes you feel good about yourself, doesn't she...she knows things."  
"I like her." Cordelia adds her 2 cents.  
"So do I, it's just that she's been living here for weeks now and well, he took her shopping!!"  
"Like I said, I like her." Cordelia adds, flipping a page in a magazine.  
"Yes, yes, I perfectly well adore her, it's just not like Angel. He's so...."  
"Non broody?" "Exactly. He's, well, he's happy!"  
Cordelia looks up from her magazine, meeting Wesley's eyes.  
Angel and Cattallina come in through the lobby's front doors. In the midst of a conversation, Catt is laughing and Angel's smile is broad.   
Wesley says quietly to Cordy, "You don't think they're....well...."  
"No evil fangs yet." she offers weakly  
"Right."  
  
  
Angel's bedroom  
  
Angel and Cattallina are lying on a blanket in front of the fireplace. Catt is on her back, Angel on his side, beside her, against her. Evidence of a picnic surrounds them.  
"That was delicious." Catt purrs contentedly. "Thank you."   
Angel's fingers are slowly tracing the lines of Catt's face. As she speaks, his finger tip touches her mouth, feeling it's movement. Bared through his unbuttoned white shirt, his muscular chest glistens with firelight. She can't resist touching it.  
"I knew it was you." he says. "The moment I saw you in his office, I knew it was you."  
Cattallina looks uncomfortable at the mention of that night. "I wish the first time we met it was somewhere romantic - someplace we can tell our children."  
Angel laughs. "You don't have any doubts about the prophecy?"  
"Not any more. Any doubts I had vanished the moment I saw your picture. The moment I found that picture of you in Lindsey's office, the instant I saw your face I knew that what I've been told all my life was true. I don't know how to describe it but you were familiar to me. I recognized you."  
Angel sat up, leaning over to the nearby table, not responding to her.  
His silence was worrisome to her - as was his seeming distraction.  
"Do YOU doubt the prophecy?" she asks tentatively.  
As he sits back up, he has a book in his hands. It's leather cover looks worn and grubby.  
"Come here." He pulls her up into a sitting position and then settles her back against his chest. He puts his arms around her and opens the book so they can both look at it. "I've had this book since the 60's." His large hands open the book and starts flipping through it, page by page. "A young artist I met had it with him all the time. He drew in it day and night - every spare minute was spent hunched over this book." Beautiful sketches rise off the pages. Each leaf bore testiment to this man's life. Everywhere he had visited found a place in this pictorial diary.  
"It's beautiful." her hand touches Angel's, slowing the turn of the pages.  
"What happened to him?"  
Just a second passes before he answers. "I killed him."  
The shock actually causes her to audibly gasp.  
"It was a weak moment." he says simply, but not for a moment dismissing the severity of his admission.  
Pulling back her hair and placing it behind her ear, he looks questioningly at her face. "What do you feel - coming from me?"  
"Is this some kind of test?"  
"No, no, I just, I wanted...."  
"I know what you wanted," she pauses, looking into the deep brown eyes that were staring back at her, "acceptance, forgiveness, to know if I really see the true you."  
"That's not the reason I told you about him."   
She leans further back into his chest. The feeling had been there long before he said anything. She could feel the conflict and she could feel the pain. She knew the guilt he fought. She felt it in the pit of her stomach, like it was her own. The pain was overwhelming.   
"I know you regret doing it." she offers, not knowing what he wanted to hear.  
He starts flipping the pages again, not saying anything.  
"Does it change things?" he asks after a minute of silence.  
"No, I've felt it in you since you first touched me."  
He quits turning the pages.   
"How much of me?"  
"All of you."  
The power of what she was saying filled the room. He doesn't even know how to respond. She could see it all and yet she was still here, in his arms.  
"This was the first one." he returns to his intention.  
She looks down at the page. The camera focuses in on a pencil drawing of her. Although faded, she can see herself as sure as if she was looking in a mirror. Another page turns and there is another sketch of her. She grabs the book out of his hands and furiously flips through the pages. All the remaining pages are filled with different angles of her. Some are just her eyes, some her lips, most are of her full face.  
"He drew these?"  
"No, I did."  
She turns so that she is facing him. "When did you draw these?"  
"After he was gone, I kept the book. One night I had a dream. I kept having the dream, night after night - it haunted me. I needed to draw what I saw, to put it somewhere concrete. Somewhere real. The book was there."  
"You saw me in your dreams?"  
"I've seen you in my dreams every night for 30 years."  
  
We see the foursome sitting around a table. There is evidence of a long dinner having been long over - the food on Angel's plate has been moved around but not eaten. His glass is empty.  
"Well, this has been fun" Angel's voice says almost convincingly, "But I think we're going to call it a night." He begins to rise.  
"No!" Cordelia stops him, pulling him back down into his chair.   
Angel looks slightly irritated.  
"Um Angel, it's just that we have some business to discuss and..." Wesley explains.  
"Yes?"  
"Well, it's sort of personal business." Wes uncomfortably glances at Cattallina "Say what you want to say." Angel's voice offers no compromise.  
Cordelia and Wesley look at each other.  
"Are you two having sex?" Cordelia blurts out.  
"Well, that was tactful." Wesley chides her.  
"That's none of your business." Angel starts to rise again, taking Catt's hand in order for her to follow him.  
"Excuse me, it is so." Cordelia stands up to meet him. "You might be too head over heels to care but I don't feel like working for Mr. I'm Murdering those Close to Me Again. I've seen what happens after you do the nasty." she quickly looks at Catt. "Sorry. She does know, right?" she looks at Angel while lifting her upper lip to make slight fangs.  
"Yes, she knows." Angel's voice bristles.  
"The ice cold skin was a dead giveaway." Catt smiles.  
"And you choose to date a vampire? One you can't sleep with? Weird. I know he's tall, dark and handsome but...."  
"Cordelia!" Angel growls through clenched teeth.   
"Look, I know you guys have been curious about our relationship. I guess you have the right to know what's going on." Catt finishes.  
"No, they don't" Angel contradicts her.  
"It's just that you have been moving rather quickly." Wesley apologizes.  
"Yea, and the last we knew, you were working for the bad guys."  
"You think I'm still working for them?"  
"I've had enough." The anger in Angel's eyes is unequivocal.  
"No, we don't think you are working for them." Wesley tries to contain the situation. "It's just that we don't know what to think. We know you are vulnerable right now, since Darla was turned. We just want to....well, we want to..."  
"Make sure you don't go "grrrr" again." Cordelia assists.  
Angel's face softens although we see his jaw muscles working to remain stern. Cattallina pulls on his hand, beckoning him back to the table. He looks at her urging face and after a pause sits back down.  
Silence fills the tension.  
Cordelia kicks Wesley under the table.  
"Oh, right then. Well, I suppose we should begin by clearing the air about Wolfram & Hart."  
"Well?" Angel asks impatiently.  
"Well, how did you begin your employment there? What exactly did you do for them?" Wes asks Cattallina in the nicest of voices.  
Where to begin the story. Catt feels Angel's hand tighten around hers, giving her courage. He knew she would have to tell them everything in order for it to make any sense. Might as well start at the beginning.   
"I was an orphan. I have no idea who my parents were, although the other girls in the orphanage used to whisper that my mother was a nun. I was born with a , a gift I suppose." she takes a pause to breathe deeply. "I can see into people's souls."  
  
Cut to Cattallina as a little girl touching a priest's hand and recoiling with a scream.  
  
"You can see into people's souls?" Cordelia repeats the statement, listening to the words again.  
Catt nods. "The Reverend Mother said I had been touched by God." "What do you see? Can you read their thoughts?" and with sudden realization, "Can you read OUR thoughts?"  
"No - it's not like that. It's more like I can feel their emotions. I can sense things - like goodness or deceit. I can judge characters I suppose. I've never really put it into words before."  
"How do you do it?"  
"I can usually feel someone's aura just by being near them - like getting their vibe." "Like intuition?" "Yes! - but when I touch someone, I feel their soul. I feel what they feel."  
"Wow, and I thought visions were intense."  
"Zerbillech, that's how you knew he was setting us up!" Wesley realizes.  
"I couldn't see what he was planning but when I shook his hand, I could feel the betrayal and the dishonesty."  
"Amazing." Wesley digests this new information.  
"And what about us? You've been chummy with us and all along you've been reading our auras?"   
Catt smiles at Cordelia's outrage. "Cordy, you are one of the most straightforward people I have ever met. You are beyond up-front. I haven't sensed anything about you that you wouldn't readily admit." she says.   
"Oh, well, okay, I guess." Cordelia looks sheepish.  
"What about me." Wesley steps up to the plate.  
"Well, you're a kind and gentle soul."  
Angel suppresses a smile.  
Silence.  
"That's it?" Wesley looks indignant.  
"Do you want me to tell all I've felt?" Cattallina asks him, looking him squarely in the eyes.  
Angel and Cordelia both look interested, Cordelia even nods.  
"No, no, I suppose I don't." he reconsiders with a hint of a wince.   
Catt pats his hand. "We'll talk later. As for Wolfram & Hart, Lindsey found me working at the convent. He had heard of - my powers - and tracked me down. It's a sordid story but Darla helped him identify me."  
Angel tightens his grip again on her hand in way of reinforcing an apology. He knew that Darla had seen her in his dreams.  
"So Lindsey brings you into the firm - to exploit your soul reading abilities I presume." Wesley theorizes. "How did you get from that point to the night that Angel rescued you?"  
  
Cut to Lindsey talking to Holland  
ONE MONTH EARLIER  
  
"So she is still willing to help us? Because if she is becoming a problem..." Holland asks.  
Lindsey smiles, shaking his head. "She thinks she's helping find lost children."  
"What about Angel?"  
"She doesn't know anything about him or the prophesy - and we have no reason to believe he knows about it either."  
"And what happens if they meet? We aren't ready for that yet."  
"I'm going to make sure that doesn't happen. By the time Cattallina meets her prophesized destiny, he'll be working for us. Besides, her true love is too occupied having dreams about our dear Darla right now." And that's right where he can stay, Lindsey thinks to himself, far away from Catt.  
"And what about the prophecies of Aberjian? He still has them."  
"Even if he does decipher the meaning of the entire passage, he won't know where she is." Lindsey takes another long swig of his whiskey. "Besides, I'm working on getting them back."  
Holland clinks Lindsey's glass.  
The camera pulls back to reveal that Cattallina, in nightgown, is standing behind a doorway in Lindsey's apartment, listening.  
  
LATER THAT NIGHT  
Cattallina and Lindsey are in mid-discussion.  
"What have you really had me doing?" "Sweetheart, you've been helping find those children. We have found so many lost...."  
"Don't patronize me Lindsey." she spits, the false kindness in his voice infuritating her. "I knew something was wrong. You are so full of anger and fear." "I don't fear anything." Lindsey snaps, his true emotions now evident in his voice.  
"Yes, you do." "Right, the chosen one can read souls." Lindsey says mockingly. "And tell me, what does YOUR soul say?"  
"It says that I am scared of what I've done and by who's surrounding me."  
"I am the only person surrounding you darling."  
The slight and menacing smile on his lips is cold.  
"Tell me what I've been doing for you Lindsey. That man Holland is so evil and so black. Is he involved with our project?"  
"Holland is my boss."  
"That man is not searching for lost children."  
Lindsey still wears a smouldering smile.  
"You know what I can do. If I can read other people's souls, you knew I would read yours."  
Lindsey doesn't answer her. Picking up a glass of whiskey from the coffee table, he swallows the warm liquid. "You did read me - before you ever agreed to come work for me."  
"And I read the darkness, but I also saw the part of you that screams to be good. Lindsey, I know you..." "You don't know me!"  
"You have so much hurt inside of you. You're letting it drown out the goodness. You have it inside of you Lindsey. I can feel it. That's the part of you that touched me, but lately your blackness just keeps growing, the bitterness and the..."  
"So this is my own personal palm reading session?" he interrupts.  
"Something like that."  
"You're going to continue helping us." he changes the subject.  
"No I'm not."  
Just then the phone rings. Lindsey answers and we hear his side of the conversation. "Well where are they now? So Dru is here? And you know where Darla and....you know where they are?" he turns and looks at Cattallina looking at him with disapproval. "I'll be right there. Don't go in without me." Hanging up the phone he goes towards the door and picks up his coat.  
"Just let me go Lindsey, please."  
"I don't know if I'll be back tonight. The guard is still outside." he walks towards the door. Just before he touches the handle, Catt's voice calls after him.  
"Who is Angel?"  
Lindsey stops dead in his tracks. "Where did you hear that name?"  
"He's my destiny?"  
Lindsey walks out, the door slams and we hear the sound of a lock.  
  
Later.....  
Cattallina has rooted through Lindsey's desk and papers are everywhere. The filing cabinet is open and she is fingering through a pile of folders that are in her lap. Suddenly we see Angel's face - a picture of him is in one of the files. Catt stops and looks at it. There is no name but she knows this is Angel. Her finger traces the outline of his face and she looks intrigued. "You're the one."   
  
Cut Back to the Supper Table  
  
"But the prophecies of Aberjian - I have read them repeatedly."  
"Believe me, it's prophecy, prophecy, prophecy. If the word prophecy is in it, Wesley has read it." Cordelia agrees.  
"The prophecy that concerns Angel is about him becoming human."  
"Yes, it is - but it is also about the journey he takes to get there."  
Cattallina smiles at Wesley's shaking head. "There is a sentence that foretells of Angel's destined eternal love, the one who has been touched by God and reads souls."  
"Well there is a reference to...that's you?" Wesley looks stunned, the pieces fitting together.  
"Angel will become human not all at once, but in little steps. As he fulfills his journey, he achieves more human qualities. When the journey is complete, so is his transformation."  
"Yes, it does talk about his reward for battles fought."  
"If you understand the Phygian language, it derives from...."  
"Hold it." Cordelia stops them. "Bottom line, you are saying that you were made for Angel and that he's becoming human, but slowly?"  
Cattallina and Angel look at each other, almost nervous to answer.  
"And the whole bliss thing?"  
Angel answers with the smile still on his face. "The Oracles said that The Powers that Be removed that part of the curse - I have achieved my first reward."  
  
  
Cut back to the Church. 1973  
  
"But for her to fall in love with one of Satan's creatures - a vampire with a soul? How can that be God's work?"  
"Our place is not to question God's designs sister."  
"Yes Father." she bows her head in humility.  
Just then the doors to the church blow open, leaves blowing in around the figure standing there. A flash of lightning illuminates Angel's face - quickly morphing back to human.  
The priest and the nun cross themselves.  
Angel slowly walks up the aisle towards them - carefully not touching anything. His clothes rain soaked and grubby, he stands before them looking fierce and haggard, smelling of the rat infested sewers.  
"Please, this is a house of God" the priest bravely begs, standing in front of the elderly nun.  
"He isn't going to hurt you." a small voice offers reassurance. The child approaches Angel.  
As he looks at her, his face minutely softens around the edges.  
The nun makes a protective movement towards the girl but the priest stops her.  
The girl reaches out and takes Angel's cold hand. As they touch, fear crosses her face although she doesn't let go of him. Then her expression changes. With the understanding and maturity of a sage, she pulls him downwards. He squats so that he is eye level with her. The look in his eyes is wonder and surprise. He feels her seeing into him. The same power that drew him to this church during a night of feasting on rats and torturing himself with regrets and shame, with the guilt of slipping back to his old ways, the taste of the artist's blood still coursing through him, begging for more. That same power was now reaching deep inside his soul and touching him.  
"You are so sad." Her soft voice caresses him and calms him. Her fingertip touches his mouth. "You are like two people."  
"Yes."  
"And they fight each other."  
"Every minute."  
A tear falls down an ivory cheek.  
"You are hurting yourself."  
Angel hangs his head, hiding the emotion she evokes in him. Closing his eyes to maintain his composure he tries to firmly reign in all the passions she unleashes. He desperately wants to scoop up the little girl and hold her tight against him. This tiny little girl that seemed to look inside him and feel all that was there. He could see it in her eyes and wondered if his own eyes betrayed so much. He couldn't even remember what his eyes looked like.  
Then the little hand pulls free of his large, cold one. It's warmth slipping through his fingers, feeling like abandonment. Someone was finally understanding his torment and struggle, his yearning, his insatiable bloodlust, his equally immobilizing thrill and repulsion for torture, his war - and she was pulling away.  
He could feel them before he saw them. The fragile little arms wrapped around his neck. She was hugging him!  
He stayed still - like a statue as she embraced his hulking form. He hadn't been hugged for over 200 years. The intimacy surprised him. Having lived without it for so long, he had forgotten what it felt like. He wouldn't feel it again for almost another 30 years and not even realize it was from the same person.  
She hugged him as he had never been touched, not even when he was human, she hugged him with total acceptance.  
It was breaking him down like no battle ever could, and his arms wrapped around her little form, pulling her greedily against him. Although the tiny girl was almost engulfed by Angel's embrace, it she who was giving the strength and the comfort.   
He could feel her soft lips against his ear as her whisper gave him hope and guided his future. "The good part of you is the strongest."   
  
  
the End  
  



End file.
